UNIT Two Theories in Socio-Cultural Anthropology PDF

UNIT TWO THEORIES IN SOCIO-CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Introduction A theory can explain known facts and allows scientists to predict what they should see if the theory proves to be true. Theories are important since they serve as bases from which they can work. These theories are tested to see if they w...

UNIT TWO THEORIES IN SOCIO-CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY Introduction A theory can explain known facts and allows scientists to predict what they should see if the theory proves to be true. Theories are important since they serve as bases from which they can work. These theories are tested to see if they will be able to explain a phenomenon. A theory that fails to explain a problem satisfactorily will be modified or abandoned in favor of another theory. 1. explain the main theories in socio-cultural anthropology, 2. describe the forces that shaped the development of anthropological theories, and 3. identify the main characteristics and types of anthropological research methods READINGS Social Evolution Social evolution, which is sometimes called Unilineal Evolution, was proposed in the 19th Century; it was the first anthropological theory. According to this theory, societies develop based on one universal order of cultural evolution, although at different rates. That is why there were different types of society existing in the world. The most well-known social evolutionists were E. B. Tylor, Lewis Henry Morgan, and Herbert Spencer. Much of the data they used was second-hand, which they collected from traders and missionaries; they rarely visited these societies to gather data. READINGS Social evolutionists came up with universal evolutionary stages which they used to classify different societies. These stages include the state of savagery, barbarism, or civilization. Morgan further subdivided savagery and barbarism into low, middle, and high. They based these stages on technological characteristics, political organization, marriage, family, and religion. With these bases, they placed Western societies at the highest rank of civilization. The societies they put in the category of savagery or barbarism were regarded as inferior to civilized society. READINGS Herbert Spencer’s theory of social evolution was often referred to as Social Darwinism. Spencer himself called it ‘synthetic philosophy.' According to Spencer, war supported evolution, asserting that those societies that were involved in more warfare were the most evolved. He also invented the phrase “survival of the fittest” and encouraged societies to compete against each other; whichever was the fittest would survive. This theory opposed any social policy that would help the poor. A group known as Eugenicists applied Spencer’s views to encourage intellectual and ethnic cleansing. READINGS The social evolutionists were the first to provide a systematic method for explaining human societies. Their ideas are viewed as too simplistic, relies on racist views, and ethnocentric. Diffusionism Another theory that was intended to explain the similarities and differences in the development of societies was begun at the beginning of the 20th Century. Diffusionism was anchored in the belief that societal changes occur because societies borrow cultural traits from one another. Diffusionism These traits diffuse or spread, hence, the existence of similar cultural features. The diffusionists were also ethnocentric in their assumptions that nonwestern societies are inferior. However, diffusionism has some validity because it helps explain the rise of classical civilizations such as those in Egypt, Greece, and Rome.  In the early 20th Century, the American anthropologist Franz Boas established a theory to counteract social evolutionism views. It was called historical particularism. This theory was also interested in solving the Historical question of why differences and similarities Particularism among societies exist.  Boas’s theory was vastly influential in the development of 20th-Century anthropology. He pioneered the use of empirical field- based ethnographic research to study society and culture in its context. Boas stresses that each society has a unique historical development that must be understood based on its own cultural and Historical environmental context; hence, the term Particularism historical particularism. This view later led to the idea of cultural relativism. Functionalism Herbert Spencer and Émile Durkheim are regarded as the forerunners of functionalism. This theory looks at culture as an interrelated whole and more than just a collection of isolated traits. Just like a human being, a society is composed of different organs working together to function well. Functionalism It consists of many interconnected parts that work as a system for society to operate efficiently. Functionalism studies how an aspect of culture affects another. The basic premise of functionalism is an interconnectedness among the different areas of society. Functionalism also relied on fieldwork and direct observations of societies.  Functionalism Functionalism was divided into two strands: structural functionalism and psychological functionalism. A.R Radcliffe-Brown proposed the structural-functionalism strand that advocates that society, and its structure are more important than individuals. In contrast, Bronislaw Malinowski, the proponent of psychological functionalism, stressed the opposite. Culture and Personality The leading proponents of this theory were Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead when it emerged in the early 20th Century. Benedict and Mead explained the relationship between childrearing practices and human behaviors. Culture and Personality Two main themes characterized this theory. One was the relationship between culture and human nature, and the second was between culture and individual personality. The theory of Culture and Personality was also influenced by Boas’ cultural relativism and Freud’s psychoanalysis theory. Culture and Personality Since Culture and Personality believed that cultural differences could be attributed to childhood experiences, they researched childrearing practices in different societies and compared their findings cross-culturally. Following Freud's methods, the proponents also employed dream analysis, interviews, life histories, participant observations, and the Rorschach inkblot test.  Cultural Ecology In the 1930s, the School of Cultural Ecology, also known as Neoevolutionism, was developed by Julian Steward. This theory tries to show the human condition's relationship to the material and cultural components of culture. Proponents of this theory believe that the environment dictates culture, meaning that culture manifests how man adapted to his environment and vice versa. The Cultural Ecology perspective is not ethnocentric and racist compared to the social evolutionism of the 19th -Century. It became influential in archeology as well as the different fields of ecology.  Cultural Materialism Cultural materialism developed from the doctrines of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who postulated an evolutionary society anchored on a materialist perspective. They claimed that societies underwent these stages: tribalism to feudalism to capitalism to communism.  Cultural Materialism The theory of materialism asserts that the physical world controls human behavior. Likewise, it also identifies three levels of social systems: infrastructure, structure, and superstructure. The infrastructure consists of meeting basic needs and serves as the basis of the other two levels. The structure represents the economic, political, and social organizations, whereas the superstructure refers to symbolism and ideology. Structuralism Structuralism is part of the group of theories known as Studies of Cognitive Structure along with ethnoscience and symbolic anthropology. Structuralism was developed by Claude Levi-Strauss, who postulated that cultures are systems that should be studied according to the structural arrangement of their elements. According to Lévi-Strauss, the patterns that we see in cultural systems are products of man's mental structure.  This theory regards culture as a mental phenomenon and cannot be studied with mathematical models or logic models. Cultural symbols must be Symbolic and analyzed using psychology, history, and Interpretive literature. Anthropology Critiques of this theory pointed out that such methods lack objectivity because it allows analysts to attach personal perceptions. Symbolic and Interpretive However, Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology proposes that you cannot Anthropology separate culture from individuals. Culture is dependent on the interpretations of events and the things that individuals make. In other words, people give meanings to their realities, which are expressed by cultural symbols. Victor Turner, Clifford Geertz, and David Schneider were the proponents of this theory. Research Methods in Socio-Cultural Anthropology Research Methods in Socio-Cultural Anthropology Since anthropology is a science, it relies on systematic observation and classification of facts and verification of laws. Anthropologists use either the inductive method or the deductive method in designing their research. If the anthropologist chooses to conduct his observations and collect data before formulating his hypothesis and theories, he uses the inductive method. On the other hand, if he begins by deriving assertions and claims from existing theories, he employs the deductive method. Research Methods in Socio-Cultural Anthropology  1. Research Problem Anthropologists frequently choose their research topics based on their life experiences and observations. Steps in Doing Anthropological Research 2. Literature Review Research involves a lot of reading and reviewing existing literature about the research topic. Libraries are a good source of research materials. Now that library materials are available online, it is easier to access these materials.  3. Research Steps in Doing Design Anthropological The research design will include Research information about the site where the research will be conducted, the research subjects, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques.  Data Collection Strategies and Methods in Anthropology 3. Research Anthropologists use the strategy called ethnography, which is based on participant- Design observation to collect data. Participant Observation – calls for the researcher’s active involvement in community life while studying it by participating in the community's activities. 3. Research Design Data Collection Strategies and Methods in Anthropology Simple conversations with community members (informants) will generate many vital data for the anthropologist. If a more structured data collection is needed, he could ask to interview key individuals or groups. In Ethnographic Conversation, Interviewing, and this instance, an interview schedule is Interview Schedule necessary. It is a list of questions he will ask during the interview. Questionnaires are not used very often in an anthropological study. Anthropologists prefer the face to face interviews with informants. 3. Research Design Data Collection Strategies and Methods in Anthropology This is a method used by anthropologists to establish kinship, descent, and marriage. This is important in studying The Genealogical Method small-scale, kin-based societies. Genealogical information could be retrieved through art, paintings, cemeteries, etc. 3. Research Design Data Collection Strategies and Methods in Anthropology Key informants are an excellent source of information. Anthropologists Well-Informed Informants would pick the individuals who have the most knowledge of community life. 3. Research Life Histories Design Data Collection Strategies and Interviews are rich sources of information, Methods in but there are times when anthropologists Anthropology come across particular informants whose life histories are fascinating. In such cases, the anthropologist can conduct an in-depth investigation of their life histories.  3. Research Emic and Etic Research Design Techniques Data The emic technique uses the research subjects' points of view in Collection presenting the outcomes of the Strategies research. and Methods Conversely, the etic technique gives the perspective of the observer. in Anthropologists often combined Anthropology these two techniques to avoid biases. 3. Research Design Kinds of Research Designs Problem-Based Ethnography Aside from data collected from interviews, anthropologists can also use documents from archives and observations of the environment (weather, diet, land use, etc.). 3. Research Design Kinds of Research Designs Longitudinal Research As the term implies, it is a long-term study of a community, society, or region done through repeated visits.  ▪ Survey Research This method is rarely used in anthropological research because anthropologists usually rely on 3. Research qualitative rather than quantitative data, the survey's main product. Design Survey research is traditionally preferred by social science Kinds of disciplines like economics, political science, psychology, and sociology Research to collect data from hundreds of randomly selected respondents by Designs using questionnaires.On the other hand, anthropologists do not that many subjects which they call informants instead of respondents.  Quantitative data will need sophisticated statistical techniques to analyze 3. Research numbers, percentages, size, Design magnitude, etc. Data Analysis Qualitative data, expressed in descriptive statements transcribed from recorded interviews, could be analyzed using content analysis, narrative analysis, discourse analysis, and grounded theory. Some computer softwares can be used to analyze qualitative data. 4. Research Report Writing and Dissemination Research reports are written following a standard format. It has four major components: introduction, methods employed, and presentation and discussion of results. Research findings could be disseminated in various avenues like seminars, conferences, and symposiums or published in scientific journals for anthropological research studies.